Anne Hviid-Pilgaard Master Thesis 31/05 2012 Table of Contents

Introduction

The Gothic genre, however, was not the only genre which Poe attributed to. His short story “The Murders in Rue Morgue” (1841) in which we follow C. Auguste Dupin solving crimes and mysteries in Paris, is widely regarded as the first detective story ever published. In this story Poe demonstrates the power of analysis and science as he solves a mystery through the use of analysis and deduction. Poe’s detective fiction seems to be a contrast to the Gothic genre, as it celebrates reason in the spirit of the Enlightenment. Tony Magistrale, author of Student Companion to Edgar Allan Poe (2001) writes that a ‘contradictory propensity is evident in the very genres where Poe chose to work’ (Magistrale, 2001; 20) due to the irrationality of the Gothic genre, and the celebration of logic and reason in his detective fiction. However, this general consensus that Gothic literature is a reaction against the Enlightenment is disputed by James P. Carson who in his essay “Enlightenment, Popular Culture, and Gothic Fiction” (1996) questions ‘the claim that there is a sharp break between the Enlightenment and Romanticism’ (Carson, 1996; 256-257).

Based on Carson’s claim that Gothic literature should not be discarded as a celebration of the irrational but rather seen as a widening of the Enlightenment’s rational world view (Carson, 1996; 257), I will aim to uncover whether Poe’s works should be reinterpreted as a widening of the Enlightenment, rather than a reaction against it. My thesis is that Poe uses his short stories and poems as a means for uncovering and understanding the complexities of the mind, rather than celebrating the seemingly inexplicable obscurities of it. To support my claim that Poe uses his works as tools for illustrating and analysing the hitherto unexplained dark emotions, I will first explore his disciplined approach to analysis and poetic composition. For this purpose I will briefly go through the key points made by Poe in his essay “The Philosophy of Composition” (1846) in which he discusses the importance of taking an analytic and structured approach to the construction of poetry. Furthermore, I will take my point of departure in “The Murders in Rue Morgue” (1841), as this will enable me to establish whether or not there is a link between Poe’s Gothic writing and the Enlightenment’s favouring of science and reason. “Rue Morgue” embodies the Enlightenment’s tradition due to it celebration of the analytical mind, and includes references to James Burnett, Lord Monboddo’s The Origin and Progress of Language vol. 1-6 (1773-92) in which the origin of language and its influence on the development man is discussed, based on studies of orang-utans and its similarities to man. I will give an account of Monboddo’s thoughts on language, mankind and orang-utans which will serve as a basis for my later interpretation of Poe’s use of the orang-utan as means for understanding the darker sides of the mind.

Despite the detective genre’s strong ties to the rational Enlightenment, there has been a tradition of interpreting “Rue Morgue” from a Freudian perspective. An approach which traditionally is strongly connected with the Gothic genre, because Freud used E.T.A Hoffmann’s Gothic short story “The Sandman” (1816) as a basis for his essay “The Uncanny” (1919) in which he theorises what mechanics are at work, when the human mind experiences feelings of terror and fear. This connection between the logical Enlightenment and the Freudian interpretations which traditionally are linked with the inexplicable aspects of the Gothic genre, makes the detective fiction an appropriate starting point for my later analysis of Poe’s Gothic stories as it can give an insight into the relationship between the Enlightenment and Poe’s Gothic stories. I will therefore do a Freudian reading of “Rue Morgue” in order to gain an understanding of the similarities between Poe’s rational detective story and his apparent irrational gothic genre. This will give me a basis for uncovering whether Poe uses his Gothic narratives to uncover mysteries in the same way as he does through his detective fiction.

In order to back up my argument, that Poe’s Gothic writing is a widening of and not a reaction against the Enlightenment, I will do a Freudian reading of his short stories “The Fall of The House of Usher” (1839), “The Black Cat” (1843), and “William Wilson” (1839) which will enable me to uncover what elements of the mind are at play in the stories, and whether Poe might have been aware of these. The Freudian tradition dictates that literature should be read as an expression of the author’s subconscious mind, which is seen in Freud’s colleague Marie Bonaparte’s psycho-biographical reading of Poe’s works in The Life and Works of Edgar Allan Poe: A Psycho-Analytic Interpretation (1933) in which she attempts to explain the psychological elements as Poe’s reactions to experiences and childhood traumas. This psycho-biographic approach to literature has caused the Freudian analysis to be disregarded by many critics, who believes it to be irrelevant and over-thought. However, I believe that despite the tradition of reading phallic symbols and childhood traumas into every aspect of a text, Freud’s psychoanalysis still has a legitimacy, because it offers an insight into the psychological references and images found in texts, which is indispensable to the understanding of Poe’s works, which often deal with madness and terror – two subjects which Freud’s theories thoroughly cover. I do not agree with Bonaparte’s psycho-biographical reading of Poe, however, I still believe that Freud’s psychoanalysis and Bonaparte’s interpretations have their raison d’être, as they offer an insight into some of the mechanics at work in Gothic literature. I will therefore revisit the Freudian readings in order to gain an understanding of what the Gothic narratives represent and if there is a conscious method behind the use of references to the mind, which might have been prompted by observations Poe made of his contemporary society, rather than personal traumas. I will also use Freud’s theories on the uncanny, as these provides a tool for understanding the seeming supernatural elements in Poe’s works as representations of the mind. This will give me an insight into how Poe employs supernatural imagery in order to play out tales of madness and terror.

In order to support my Freudian interpretations of Poe’s works and the supernatural elements as images of the mind, I will use Tzvetan Todorov’s theories on the Fantastic, as these will enable me to uncover whether Poe’s supernatural tales should be classified as uncanny or marvellous. For this purpose I will give an account of the differences between Todorov’s fantastic, the uncanny and the marvellous in order to be able to distinguish between supernatural elements and elements which only appear supernatural. By analysing Poe’s works through Todorov’s theories I aim to uncover if the supernatural elements in his works can be understood through explanations of this world e.g. madness, or if they defy the natural order and therefore are purely supernatural. Furthermore, I wish to add some of Michel Foucault’s thoughts on madness in the late 18^th century, as this will give me an insight into how madness was viewed during the period in which Poe wrote his stories. By clarifying the view on madness during the late 18^th century and early 19^th century, I hope to gain an understanding of how Poe’s narratives either break with these views or if they are written in keeping with them.

Finally I wish to uncover whether Poe uses his Gothic writing to directly comment on elements found in his contemporary society. For the purpose of this, I will analyse “The Imp of the Perverse” (1845) and the self-destructive emotions which are depicted in the story. Because “The Imp of the Perverse” is a combination of an essay and a short story it gives an insight into how Poe might have intended his works to be read. I will therefore analyse what defines the mental state which is referred to as ‘the imp of the perverse’ by Poe, and how he attempts to understand and explain it throughout the text. Furthermore I will give an account of the 19^th century science ‘phrenology’ which is mentioned several times through the text, and how Poe attempts to use this science as a means for uncovering the mechanics behind a unbalanced psyche.

To sum up, my aim with this thesis is to uncover whether Poe’s writing should be dismissed as irrational narratives, written as a contrast to the Enlightenment’s rational world view, or if it is a commentary on and a discussion of the his contemporary society’s view on madness and other dark sides of the mind. Furthermore, I wish to establish if Poe adopts an analytical approach to the madness portrayed in his Gothic writing, thus echoing the Enlightenment’s traditions. My thesis is that Poe was aware of the psychological elements which can now be explained through a Freudian analysis, and that his writing therefore should be regarded as a cry for more thorough studies, or even as an unscientific analysis, of the human mind, thereby making his works a part of the rational Enlightenment’s search for explanations through science, rather than a reaction against it.